Life and Birth
by Miss Maggie
Summary: Five glimpses into the future life of Zidane and Dagger after the end of IX, contemplating love, parenthood, and dealing with Eiko.
1. Forever

Dagger and Zidane had finally managed to escape from the festivities outside the castle, seeking solace from the many well-wishers by retreating to the queen's quarters inside. The hour was late, and the congratulations for the happy couple had been plentiful. It's not everyday that the people's beloved queen's beloved comes back seemingly from the dead, and the people of Alexandria were in a right mood to celebrate.

"We should get married," declared Dagger once the door had been shut behind the two of them.

"Dagger, what?!" repeated Zidane, who had to sit down on one of the queen's overstuffed chairs for fear of falling over with shock. "You're serious?"

"Absolutely. You're back and I'm not letting you go ever again," said Dagger, who slid into the oversized chair next to Zidane.

"Don't you need a minute to think about it?" asked Zidane as he leaned over toward Dagger. "I mean, you're a queen and all, and I'm just a member of a troupe of thieves who play at being actors."

"Oh, says the person who enjoyed calling me 'wife' whenever he had an opportunity while we were on our journey?" Dagger abruptly stood up. "I thought that after your performance today, it was clear I'd meant something to you."

"I don't wanna hold you down," explained Zidane lamely. He winced at the foolishness of his words. "I love you, but I don't want you to ever wake up one day and have you wish you'd done better."

"So? I love you. I waited for you," shot back Dagger. "I'm the queen of Alexandria, am I not? I think that gives me the right to marry whoever I want. And I want nothing more than to marry you, Zidane."

"You really mean it?" asked Zidane. "But I'd make a horrible king."

"Who said you ever had to be king?" said Dagger, the faintest hints of a smile forming at the corners of her mouth. "You can be whatever title you wish. I was leaning toward Prince Consort, myself."

"You can't be Prince Consort if you're already a queen," pointed out Zidane. "And besides, you're female."

"Oh, so now you choose to make fun of my semantics!" replied Dagger. "Does that mean you're warming to my idea?"

"I want nothing more than to marry you, my wife," replied Zidane soberly. He reached out and pulled Dagger back into the chair with him, letting her rest on his lap. "Although I do admit I'm a little annoyed you stole my thunder."

"I stole your thunder?" said Dagger, who had raised one eyebrow in skepticism. "You? Weren't you just telling me that you couldn't marry me? That you wanted me to do better?"

Zidane wrapped his arms around Dagger, resting them just above her waist. "I was being noble, I guess," he muttered softly, so Dagger could barely hear.

"You were being noble?" exclaimed Dagger, more than a little surprised. "But why?"

"Because I want you to be happy," said Zidane, still speaking softly. He buried his head in the crook of Dagger's neck and breathed in her scent. He felt no further need to elaborate, and contented himself with simply holding her.

"I'd be happiest with you, you idiot," said Dagger. The smile on her face was full-blown by now. "Don't you ever dare forget that, Zidane."

Zidane pulled his head back from her neck. "I was hoping you'd say that," he admitted honestly. "Because well…" he trailed off, swallowing.

"Out with it Zidane," said Dagger, impatience beginning to edge into her tone. "I love you, I'm not going to reject you. You'll be lucky if Steiner can drag you away from me tonight. Now tell me?"

"Rusty dragging you away from me is not lucky." Zidane made an exaggerated face before reaching into his pocket, which was more difficult than one might expect, mostly because he was bound and determined to keep Dagger on his lap. At long last, he pulled out a simple gold ring. Dagger gasped at the sight of it.

"I'm glad you said it first, because I was going to throw myself on your feet and beg you to accept me anyway," said Zidane. "Of course, I was going to soften you up a bit, maybe take you to a fancy dinner and a show at Ruby's theater first."

"You can do that anyway," said Dagger, snatching the ring from Zidane and pulling it on her left ring finger. "When we celebrate our engagement."

"One more thing, Dagger," he said, his voice suddenly sober. "I'm not sure I can have kids. I mean, I'm a genome made from who knows what, and you're one of the last two summoners from Madain Sari."

"Well, life is full of surprises, isn't it?" replied Dagger. "What happens, happens."

"But won't you need an heir? To carry on the Alexandrian throne?" said Zidane. He shrugged nervously. "And I'm not sure what kind of lifespan I'll have, as a genome and all."

"Do you feel a strange need to present yourself in the worst possible light?" Dagger shook her head. "I love you, you love me, right?" Zidane nodded so intensely it reminded Dagger of a moogle's pom-pom swaying madly in the wind.

"I love you more than anything," he replied. "You're everything to me."

"Two more years or one hundred more, I'm going to spend them with you," replied Dagger intensely. "You're brave, kind, selfless, and more than a little perverted. Life will be an adventure together, won't it?"

"The best adventure of all," said Zidane. "I'll keep the Alexandrian queen from getting too caught up in forgetting how to live."

"And I promise to smack sense into you if you ever get down on yourself again," vowed Dagger. "Nobody's going to insult the man I love, especially not himself!"

"Well, now that all the important stuff's out of the way, can we celebrate that engagement a little early?" asked Zidane, his eyes ever-hopeful.

Dagger laughed, a mischievous glint present in her eyes. "Only if you're thinking the same way I am," she said, leaning forward to capture Zidane's lips against hers in a kiss.

The last coherent thought Zidane had that night was a fleeting notion to get the chair bronzed in the morning.


	2. Announcement

"Zidane," said Garnet as she entered their bedroom. She was clutching the hem of her dress, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "I have news for you."

"Yeah Dagger, what's up?" he replied, not bothering to look up from the battered old book of plays he was thumbing through. The guys from Tantalus were looking to perform in Alexandria for their wedding anniversary next month, and he had promised to give them a play to perform for Dagger by tomorrow.

"I have important news," emphasized Garnet as she crossed the room toward her husband. "I'd kind of like you to listen."

Zidane caught the edge in her voice and immediately set the book aside. He patted an empty spot next to him on the windowsill. "Wanna sit down and tell me what's on your mind?"

Garnet shook her head. "I think I'd better stand up for this one," she said. Taking a deep breath, she managed to finally deliver her news. "Zidane, I'm pregnant."

"For reals, Dagger? But I thought that you couldn't get pregnant?" Zidane leapt up from his seat, gathered his wife by her waist, and twirled her around their bedroom playfully.

"I guess apparently I can," said Garnet once both her feet were firmly planted on the floor again. "We both were wrong."

"Still, that's great!" gushed Zidane, who still hadn't let go of his wife. "Do you think the baby'll have a horn?"

"I'd rather the baby had a tail like yours," replied Garnet with a wink. "Do you think I'll be a good mother?"

"The best," replied Zidane immediately. "Can I teach the baby to pick-pocket?"

"I see you're planning to be a shining example of morality for our unborn child." Garnet's tone was strict, but her smile gave away any attempt at seriousness.

"Well, wouldn't you rather I taught it to our child instead of say, Baku?" replied Zidane. "Or Blank?" he added with a shudder.

"They'll come for the birth, right?" asked Dagger. "Marcus and Ruby, too?"

"I'll drag them here myself if I have to," promised Zidane. "Not to mention Freya. And we'll have to drag Amarant over from who-knows-where he is right now. And Eiko's gonna be so excited."

"Can we wait a little longer to tell everyone?" asked Garnet seriously. "It's not that I don't think they'll be happy for us, but I kind of want to keep this between us for right now. Our secret."

"Anything you say, Dagger," agreed Zidane.

"It's just that Steiner will fret, and so will Beatrix, although she hides it far better," explained Garnet. "And Quina will probably try to cook the whole of the pantry stores. I'd rather not be the center of attention any more than necessary."

"You're the queen, babe. That means attention is lavished upon you whenever you set foot out of our wing," pointed out Zidane. "But yeah, I get what you're saying. I'd rather not have Rusty shooting me dirty looks 'cause I knocked you up, anyway."

Garnet giggled. "You always manage to make me laugh," she said, leaning forward to give her husband a kiss.

"One of the many services I provide," Zidane replied with a cheeky grin once the two of them had broken the kiss. "So, how 'bout we announce it in time for our wedding anniversary next month? That gives us, what – six weeks to enjoy the news all by ourselves?"

"That sounds like a plan." Garnet nodded her head and let it rest on Zidane's shoulder. "You're going to make a wonderful father."

"You sure?" he asked, a slight edge of uncertainty in his voice.

"I know you best, and if I say so, then it must be true." Garnet kissed her husband's cheek. "Now, why were you looking at those plays when I came in here earlier?"

"Oh, just trying to decide what play to let the guys of Tantalus perform for the inevitable party for our anniversary," Zidane said with a noncommittal shrug.

"I guess the nobles are getting tired of hearing _I Want to be Your Canary_ at every important celebration?" Garnet asked.

"Not that I don't love it," Zidane replied. "It's our thing. Our play. But maybe we can do it just on your birthday?"

"I suppose Tantalus would get mad if the nobles started throwing rotten fruit at the stage," said Garnet. "Did you decide on anything?"

"It's supposed to be a surprise for my very lovely wife," he said, pulling Garnet toward their bed. They landed on the fluffy quilt with an undignified plop.

"Your wife is very lovely?" replied Garnet, curling up on top of Zidane, resting her head on his chest. She had always enjoyed listening to his heartbeat. "Does she know about us?"

"Ha ha," said Zidane dryly. "I guess we're doomed to a clandestine affair?"

"She'd better not find out about us then." Garnet pulled one of Zidane's hands into hers and let them rest together loosely on his stomach.

"Too bad she's right here." Zidane moved his head ever so slightly to kiss the top of Garnet's hair.

"Just think, Zidane," murmured Garnet sleepily. "In about seven months, there will be three of us in our little family."

He responded by kissing Garnet's hair again, and the two of them let a comfortable silence fill the air. Zidane moved his free hand to gently run his fingers through his wife's hair, which was slowly lulling the young queen into a sleepy daze.

"Hey, Dagger?" asked Zidane, breaking the quiet.

"Yes?" Garnet's reply was mumbled.

"Will we still be able to have sex without hurting the baby?" he asked, a note of panic creeping into his voice.

"Don't ever change, don't ever change." The queen's laughter filled the air as she leaned forward to kiss her husband senseless.

Zidane vowed to remember this moment forever, especially considering the horror stories he heard were in store for him. Life with Dagger would always be an adventure, and he could hardly wait to see what would come next.


	3. Welcome

"Babies!" cooed Eiko excitedly as she leaned over the dual bassinets in the nursery of Alexandria castle. Ten years old, she'd been eagerly anticipating the birth of the new newest residents of Alexandria Castle for quite some time. To be totally honest, she'd been waiting for their arrival since she was six, and had given up Zidane in an overly dramatic fashion once she'd realized that Dagger and Zidane were made for each other.

Every member of the old gang had come out for the birth, and the babies had obliged by coming exactly on the date of their annual reunion that year.

"Two, can you believe it? Twins!" cried Eiko as she leaned over the bassinets.

"No, I couldn't quite, actually," admitted Zidane from his seat in the corner of the nursery.

"You hardly count," replied Eiko. "You were such a space case during the birth. Dagger pulled through really well, despite of your hand-wringing."

"She was screaming and swearing at me, Ei. You try being on the receiving end of all that violence directed at you and then tell me about it," grumbled Zidane.

"She made it look really graceful, though," said Eiko. "I didn't realize it'd take such a long time though. What, fourteen hours?"

"Fourteen hours, twenty-seven minutes, and thirty two seconds altogether," said Zidane. "It felt a lot longer."

"Well, I don't ever think I wanna give birth for a long time, though, but the babies are cute." Eiko held a hand out over one of the bassinets and toyed with the white ribbon tied along the top. "I'm glad I wasn't Mikoto, though!"

"I owe her. Big time." Zidane winced and crossed the room to stand next to Eiko. "I can't believe Freya took her into the birthing room with her."

"Well, Freya needed help and she knew you'd be useless," said Eiko, a playful grin marking her features. "Freya was all kinds of cool, though. I guess being a Dragon Knight means you learn all sorts of things."

"Looking for a future career as a Dragon Knight of Burmecia, Eiko?" asked Zidane as he leaned over to ruffle Eiko's hair.

"Nah. But Father says I can help him work on the Hilda Guard IX this summer if I get good marks on my report card, though," Eiko said, removing Zidane's hand from the top of her head. "Stop ruffling my hair."

"Growing up on me, Eiko?" Zidane leaned down and grinned at Eiko. "Don't worry, you're still my favorite cousin-in-law."

"Doofus, I'm your only cousin-in-law," Eiko said, but she couldn't help but smile back.  
"Does that mean we can still set off the fireworks together tonight?"

"Ei, that is our special tradition at this festival, and you bet we're gonna set off the fireworks," Zidane smiled. "I'm not gonna forget about you just because I've got two more girls in my life now."

"You're surrounded by us, aren't you?" Eiko smirked. "Outnumbered by two more."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Zidane seriously. "You know how I love the ladies."

"Don't let Dagger hear you say that!" said Eiko. She quickly looked over her shoulder, trying to make sure the Queen wasn't anywhere within earshot. Dagger had a very peculiar habit of walking into conversations at the exact wrong time.

"She's still sleeping, Eiko." But Zidane looked cautiously behind his shoulder as well. "Giving birth to two kids over the better part of a night and day wears a person out, even one as totally amazing as Dagger."

"Nice save, Zid," replied Eiko. "Do you think the twins mind that we're staring at them like this?"

"Hey, Eiko, are you sure you're okay?" Zidane looked her straight in the eyes. "I don't need you to worry about not getting to spend time here anymore. The twins need an aunt to cause chaos with, you know. Somebody to teach them all the stuff Dagger won't let me teach 'em. Besides, you're part of our family, too."

Eiko leaned over and wrapped Zidane in the tightest hug she could manage.

"I guess that's a yes?" he asked Eiko after a few minutes.

"Sure thing," agreed Eiko. "So, Blank said that he and Marcus were going to try and get Steiner drunk tonight. Wanna watch and provide a running commentary?"

"As long as I don't have to cross-dress again," said Zidane, who reached to grab Eiko's hand. He paused mid-reach. "Although I should probably worry about what kind of influence we are on you, shouldn't I?"

Eiko leaned over and grabbed Zidane's hand, leading the two of them away from the nursery and back to the party downstairs. "Too late."


	4. Motherhood

Garnet doesn't know how, but she's taken to motherhood like a fish to water. It astounds her really, because she was raised mostly by nurses, and when she was older, there were governesses and lessons and Dr. Tot. She loved her mother very much – both of her mothers, even if she can't quite remember her birth mother – but they never gave her much of an example to follow.

Her earliest memories of Brahne involve looking longingly at her mother dressed in her finest for a ball or ceremony that Garnet herself was too young to attend. She had a fine time with her nurse at the time, who had probably been the nicest of all the ones she had been given. That nurse let little Garnet dress up in her very best dress and the two of them had a tea party in the princess's quarters while the grand ball was going on downstairs. Garnet remembers crying when that particular nurse was let go less than a month later, replaced with a governess who was a bit old and very strict and who had never liked tea parties very much.

She's still surprised that she was able to become a mother in the first place, given the fact that she married Zidane, with his fascinating genetic history, and that well, she's a summoner from the village of Madain Sari. Garnet wasn't too surprised when her daughters, both of them, were born with tails and horns. The people of Alexandria might have wondered how on earth their two newest princesses could look like that, but as they loved their queen, no one was rude enough to wonder aloud. Garnet was so by her babies that their looks never bothered her in the slightest. They were healthy and they were happy and they were her daughters. Hers.

Garnet's daughters are babies now, but she can't help but look at them and dream of the future they're going to have. She's going to let them host tea parties with the good china and slide down the banister and jump rope in the throne room and do all the things she wanted to do but was never allowed to while she was growing up in the castle.

"Do you think they can sleep with us when they have nightmares?" Zidane whispers from behind Garnet, interrupting her thoughts. He slips an arm around his wife's waist and squeezes it gently.

Garnet sighs and a surge of love flows though her for Zidane. She loves him so much, even when he pulls her away from her paperwork and interrupts her meetings and always makes her fifteen minutes late for important state dinners. She loves him because of that, really.

"Absolutely. I insist," says Garnet, her voice hardly more than a whisper. "But only if you promise to read them a bedtime story every night."

"That's a given, Dagger! Hey, do you think they'll draw on the walls of the dining room?" asks Zidane.

"I think if they don't get that idea on their own, you'll probably encourage them to anyway." Garnet nods and leans into his arms.

"Well, you did say that you never liked that wallpaper very much," points out her husband.

"That's not necessarily an excuse to destroy it," reminds Garnet. "Although it does mean I'd probably get less mad if that particular wallpaper was drawn on."

"You're too nice to get mad about something like that, Dagger," scoffs Zidane. "And watch, they'll draw something that says I love my mommy with big chalk drawings of hearts and you'll turn into goo which would totally get rid of any mad feelings."

"You know me too well," muses Garnet.

"I did marry you," answers Zidane. "And look, we're parents now." He wraps a second arm around his wife and hugs her from behind. "Two in one go, huh?"

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Garnet sighs again, content. "I suppose we should enjoy this while we can."

"Imagine when they get older and start driving Rusty crazy!" says Zidane, his eyes growing excited.

"You're going to help them, aren't you?" remarks Garnet. "Does that mean I'm going to have three children to raise already?"

"Aw, but you love us anyway," points out Zidane. "And look, when Ruby's kids get a little older, and Freya's kids and even Rusty's kid, you can invite them all over and turn the castle into a zoo. You know you'll love it."

"You're right, I will," replies Garnet. "I can hardly wait."


	5. Babysitting

"Relax, Zidane!" Eiko said confidently as she grinned up at her favorite genome. "I can handle this! You and Dagger should go have some fun. It is your birthday after all, Zidane! Dagger has been planning this day out for the two of you for months. No need to cancel it because I showed up. I'm family, remember? The kind that tends to drop in uninvited for unexpected reasons."

"Eiko, you do realize you've volunteered to baby-sit the twins, and they are not the easiest children in the world to take care of?"

"I'm thirteen. I took care of myself and a whole village of moogles for almost a whole year after my grandpa died. I can handle two little girls."

"Eiko, they're my daughters, and they're three. You know what I'm like. You know what Dagger's like. Multiply that potential combination times two. You're volunteering to look after two rather high-strung three year olds," Zidane pointed out.

"Not just volunteering, but looking forward to it!" replied Eiko. "Shoo, shoo, go watch Ruby's new play and eat that insanely romantic dinner that Dagger has been planning for you two."

Eiko took Zidane's hand and began leading him down the hallway toward the suite of rooms she shared with his wife. "Go! Get ready, make yourself pretty. I know you're just dying to primp that tail of yours," she said with a very mischievous wink. "I'll head down toward the girls' rooms and there will be fun times to be had."

"You can get us anytime if it gets to be too much to handle, Ei. And Steiner and Beatrix should be in their wing – are you sure you don't want me to ask them over to help?" asked Zidane.

"Who knew that fatherhood could turn you into such a worrywart, Zid!" Eiko rolled her eyes. "I am more than responsible enough to keep an eye on your daughters. Besides, they love me, and we will have a great time. Mother and Father trust me, and you've known me longer. Z, we saved the freaking world together, I think I can handle babysitting."

"I should call Beatrix," said Zidane, eying the door cautiously. "She can keep an eye on all three of you."

"Beatrix and Steiner have other things to worry about right now," Eiko said, placing her hands on her hips. "Beatrix has the flu, or did you forget that? Remember Dagger shooing Beatrix from the conference hall yesterday and telling her not to come out of their wing for at least a week? And you know very well that Steiner's armor scares the twins. And you bet he's got enough on his plate trying to take care of Beatrix and their son right now!"

Eiko paused for a moment to catch her breath before continuing on. "Give it a rest, Zidane! I can baby-sit. Besides, there is a whole palace staff around if I do realize I'm over my head later in the evening. I am thirteen. I don't need a babysitter, and besides! Dagger is going to be pissed if you flake out of your own birthday dinner, especially after she managed to talk the nobles out of throwing that ball for your birthday instead."

"Fine, you win," agreed Zidane at last. "You're pretty stubborn, you know?"

"I learnt that from the best," replied Eiko with a very wry smile. "Now go, shoo! Get ready! I'm sure Dagger's not gonna like it if you take longer to get ready than her!" Eiko waved her hands in a get out type motion.

Zidane moved to open the door to his and Dagger's room, but then he paused and leaned on the doorframe. "Did Dagger put you up to this?" he asked.

"You're stalling!" Eiko raised her eyebrows and wagged a finger at Zidane. "Now shoo, or I'll tell Dagger the truth about that time we took the twins to feed the chobobos at the Black Mage Village and somebody let them all loose. Because they most certainly did not free themselves."

"Resorting to blackmail?" said Zidane, this time with a raised eyebrow of his own. "You really have been hanging around Tantalus too much, Eiko."

"Again, I learnt all of my important life skills from the very best!" Eiko replied, this time with a very mischievous-looking wink. "Now stop stalling and go get ready."

"Yes ma'am!" Zidane gives Eiko a mock-salute before disappearing into the room.

Once Eiko was finally satisfied that Zidane was actually off getting ready and not worrying about her again, she clapped her hands gleefully and skipped off in the direction of the twins' nursery. "Aunt Eiko is ready to go have some fun!"


End file.
